


Because You're On The Border

by gooberzayn



Category: Fifth Harmony (Band)
Genre: 5h, Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, Normani-centric, Religion, Satan!AU, caminah, laurmani
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-26
Updated: 2014-12-26
Packaged: 2018-03-03 17:17:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2858732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gooberzayn/pseuds/gooberzayn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Camila Cabello is the Devil and she is influencing Normani to go after the girl that she likes, Lauren. This work discusses the ambiguity of religion (specifically Christianity) and the subjectivity of sin. If that is going to offend you, don't read it.</p><p>Also like... all of Fifth Harmony in this fic are like super gay</p><p>This is a rework and finishing of a previous One Direciton fic that I wrote. A lot of the first two chapters are lifted verbatim, with added details, and a few things changed, but the last chapter is entirely new. I don't want anyone to think I'm stealing my own fic, but I could never finish it until now and after making the decision to switch the fandom I was writing it for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Because You're On The Border

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Because You're On The Border](https://archiveofourown.org/works/931320) by [gooberzayn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gooberzayn/pseuds/gooberzayn). 



Normani eyed the girl from a distance as she crossed the sidewalk to leave from school she didn’t want her to notice that she was watching. She was wearing black doc martens and and short leather shorts. Normani thought it was amazing that she was willing to brave the warm Texas heat in the name of looking cool. She chuckled to herself and kept on walking.

 _Get over it, Hamilton you don't have time for this_ she said to herself, _you’re not supposed to like girls._

Normaniw as a christian girl. Well, not a devout eccentric uber Christian, but she was raised with her religion. She figured that if she told herself enough times that she didn't like girls, then she wouldn't.

“Well, why not?” rang a high, sly voice. Normani turned, startled by the unfamiliarity, and the fact that she hadn’t been talking out loud.

“Who’re you?”

“Oh, you know… Some call me Satan, some call me Lucifer, my friends call me Camila. Most mortals just make up their own names, I suppose.”

“I don’t recall wanting to sell my soul for anything.” Normani responded, not fully believing the girl.

“Hey, hey, hey, I know you don’t believe me, but that’s no reason for insults.”

“Yes, because I’m just supposed to believe someone when they tell me they’re Satan.”

“This why I just told Eve to eat the apple instead of telling her who I was first…”

“Sure, bud.”

“But that’s beside the point. Why aren’t you supposed to like girls?”

Normani had forgotten about that bit, and she was sure she hadn’t been speaking aloud.

“No, you weren’t speaking aloud.  I read your mind, evil powers and all that lot you know.”

“Well, what was I thinking before that, Camila?”

“Yep, yep mortals always choose Camila. Somehow it keeps them a bit less terrified of me.” she winked “That girl over there, Lauren. You like her, only you don’t want to like her, because I guess it’s a sin or whatever… I was never really good at those, and you at least want to talk to her about liking girls, because you haven’t figured yourself out yet, but if you do talk to her, everyone will think you like girls, because everyone knows Lauren is a lesbian. Is that enough information for you or would you also like me to recite every thing you bought on your last trip to WalMart?”

Normani’s eyes widened, she began to shout but there was no sound coming out of her mouth.

“You can’t just go yelling about Satan. You’ll looking crazy and I’ll just render myself invisible and turn your entire class against you.”

Normani closed her mouth.

“Better... I probably wouldn’t have turned anyone against you, though. Humans have a tendency of doing those things on their own.”

She looked at Normani for a moment, a small tear rolled down her face. “You don’t have to be so terrified. I’m here to help you. Calm down.”

She stares at her for another moment. “Oh, for the love of.” she flicked her hand at Normani, who immediately feels a surge of calm overwhelm her.

“Better?”

Normani’s face pulled into a large, goofy smile “Yea. Much better. What is this stuff, anyway? Did you drug me?”

“No. It’s pure, unfiltered calm.”

“It’s good. I’m gonna need some of this if I'm gonna be dealing with the Devil.” Normani was still a little unconvinced

Camila rolled her eyes in reply. “Yes, I’ll get right on that; piss off God even more about me giving things to mortals that they shouldn’t have.”

“Like what?”

“Anything that alters you guys’ mood is bad apparently. God says it’s because you guys have to learn to ‘suffer through your state’ or some crap like that I don’t know. Apparently makes you better people... I don’t care.”

“You don’t care?”  
“No.”

“But it’s... God.”  
“Yea blah blah blah. Look, God’s great I guess, but I’m the rebellious child and all you guys are my younger siblings. I’ve got to get you into all of the cool stuff no matter how much mom dislikes it.”  
“God is a mom?”  
“What else would God be?”  
“.Now, I don't know my bible 100% word for word but I'm pretty sure the prayer goes ‘Our _father_ who art in heaven.’”  
Camila let out a big chuckle “You humans and your patriarchy. People can change stories to fit the dominant members of society. That includes gender references in Holy books.”

“I never thought...”  
“I know. You guys don’t do that often.. that’s what I’m here for.” 

“You’re here to help me think? I am a good kid. I get straight As, I go to dance practice, I've never even kissed anyone, I've never been in a car accident, and I don't stay out past curfew. It makes no sense that Satan would be my guardian angel.”

“Hey, hey, hey I’m no one’s guardian angel. I’m the Prince of Darkness, alright. And you're so good and nice of course you'd need someone evil like me to guide you.”

"Prince?"

"Prince....ss? You guys and this gender stuff it messes me up sometimes. Princess of Darkness!"

“Aren’t you supposed to have like a trident and horns and sharp teeth and a tail...and be red?”

“Actually my normal form is more like a featureless blob of red... or at least, that’s how I’d look to you. Right now I’m assuming the most lovable, unthreatening form for you specifically. Weird that I'm so pale, though... I blame European standards of beauty and racial profiling. Both things that I created."

Normani frowned "Yea, thanks a lot for those."

"Listen they're not my best work but a girl has got to start somewhere, right?"

Normani looked her over for a moment. “You _are_ really nice looking, though.”

“You can call me pretty if you want. You can even say I’m attractive.”

And Normani felt a twinge in her stomach, like she probably shouldn’t be there. _Obviously, I shouldn’t be_ , she thought to herself, _she’s Satan._

“You can just call me Camila, thanks.”

“Could you please stop reading my thoughts?”  
“Sorry. Force of habit. I’ll stop. I’ll focus on Lauren’s instead.”

Normani cocked a brow.

“...What is she thinking?”

“Oh, you know. Cigs, and tests and beer football. Typical girl stuff. Wondering what party she’ll be going to this weekend... she has a paper to write in English.”

“Oh, nice...”

“Minds are usually boring when the person isn’t worried about anything.”

“I think that's a good thing...”

“It is.”

Normani sighed. “I don’t even want to necessarily... I don’t know. I’d like to talk to her for a bit.”

She finally reached her car, and opened the door.

“Then why not just talk to her?”

“Because I can’t. I can’t ask for her number, because everyone will think I’m gay. She doesn’t have mine... and if she does she hasn’t used it.”

Normani blinked, she literally blinked, she’s sure she only blinked, and she’s in her room, sitting on her bed, Camila sitting across from her at her desk, listening patiently.

“What the fuck?”

“Oh, I... I crinkled. I kind of bent the time around us a bit so that we’d get here faster. I thought you’d want to talk some place that made you a bit more comfortable.”

“You bent the time around us...”  
“Yes, it’s... it’s just a thing.”

“Wait does that mean the future is basically like, set in stone or something?”  
“No. Well, time really only exists in this dimension, anyway, but basically it’s all based on decisions. You had already made the decision to go home and come to your room. I bent time forward to the end result of that decision.”

“Oh...”

“We’re never going to get through this if you keep being distracted by every little thing that I do.”

“Well sorry if supernatural powers distract me and are just an everyday thing to you.”

“You should be, mortal.”

“Is that supposed to be an insult?”  
“Yes.”

Normani waited a bit, to see if Camila would laugh or smile, or tell her she was joking. She didn’t. Her face is still, and there’s not a hint of remorse on it.

“Why are you even here? Why me?”  
Camila stood up.

“I guess I just have a thing for l’amore. Cupid, Satan, same basic principle right? You’re sad in the beginning, and you’re sad at the end, but I helped you to gain an unparalleled amount of extremely selfish happiness in the middle. That’s what I’m all about. That’s why I keep influencing people to bring babies into the world.”

“You’re horrible.”

“I am The Devil. Make no mistake about that.”

“Then why should I even be listening to you? You influence people to do bad things.”

“I think you do a bit of the same thing, don’t you?”

“I’m not evil, though.”

“Evil is a... subjective word. Anyway. I’m here to help you out with Lauren.”

“Lauren isn’t a thing.”

“Before I crinkled you were all sappy about how all you wanted to do was talk to her.”

“That’s not going to happen, anyway.”

Camila plopped onto the floor, folding her legs, and propping her face up on her elbows.

“Why?”

“Because, I don’t like girls, and Lauren doesn’t like me, and it would ruin everything, and I don’t want to.”

“Fine, fine. No more stuff about Lauren. I think I’ll stick around for a bit anyway.”

Normani eyed her for a moment “Are there other bad things that I’m supposed to be doing?”  
Camila shrugged “None in particular that I can think of.”

“Good, then  I’m going to-” she blinked again, and she’s still in her bed, except this time she was in her pyjamas and had a feeling of complete fullness in her belly. “Why do you keep doing that?”

“Because linear time is _boring._ One day I’m gonna break a really big rule and teach scientists how to travel in time.”

Normani layed down, and wrapped herself up under her blanket.

“One day mom’s going to really punish you.”

“I’ve already been kicked out. Not much more you can do after that.”

Normani smiled, her eyes feeling heavy. “Get some sleep, mortal. I’ll be back tomorrow.” Normani nodded and watched as the lights dimmed slowly around her, and Camila faded out of view.

The next day while Normani was sitting in the booth of her favorite little diner, Camila appeared again.

“Can you just pop up like that? Won’t people see you?”

“No one can see me. Only you can.”

“Oh, that’s comforting, now people will think I’m crazy.”

“Not exactly. People looking at you don’t see you talking to me. It’s like a magical force field that makes you look normal.”

“...This is ridiculous.”

“For you, anyway, how’ve you been getting on without me?”

“Same way I have for the last 18 years thanks.”

“Oh, someone’s having a bad day.”

“I’m not. I just haven’t had my--”

“Here ya go. Coffee, two sugars, no cream.”

“Thank you, Ally.”

“Hello, Ally” Camila said, Normani gave her an incredulous look.

“Hello, Satan.” Ally said rather nonchalantly “Back to the kitchen I go.” 

“I thought you said no one could see you.”

“They can’t... and Ally isn’t no one.”

“She goes to my school!”

“I’m aware.”

“How is it that she can see you?”

Camila sighed

“You see her girlfriend over there?”

Camila gestured to a girl with brown skin and kinky-curly hair leaning over the counter laughing at something Ally had just said.

“You mean Gia?”

“Yes. Gia is an inbetween.”

“A what?”

“A magical creature, not like me. Doesn’t do anything to bring peace in the world, doesn’t do anything evil. Not really human, not fully supernatural. More human in morals and goals, though I suppose. It’s like, human, but can see the worlds on both sides.”

“What? Is she like an angel?”

“No. Angels are like me... I’m an angel, actually. She’s more like... a  fairy, a pixie.”

“So she’s a pixie?”

“No. Those are really tiny... She’s more like a nymph. Yes, she’s a nymph, let’s go with that.”

“So, she’s magical?”

“Yes, and since she’s not like me, Ally being exposed to her for so long has made it so that she can perceive both realms. That’s why she can see me.”

“This is too weird. I’m talking to Satan and Gia is a nymph.”

“That’s the spirit.”

Normani gave her a tired look, and took a long sip from her mug. Her phone buzzed, and as she took it out she noticed a wide grin spread across Camila’s lips.

“What the fuck did you do?”

“Nothing...”

She held her phone close to Camila's face “This is Lauren. Lauren is texting me. She didn’t have my number before today, we’d only said two words to each other since she transferred to our school before today and now she’s texting me.”

“She could’ve asked around for your number.”

“And just what would have prompted her to do that?”

Camila sat back and stretched her arms behind her head “To invite you to a party tonight, apparently.”

“She has loads of parties she never invites anyone people just show up.”

“Well I guess she wants to make sure you’re coming.” she smiled

“And why would she want to do that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe she had some really nice dream about you and now she can’t stop thinking about you? I’m no expert on these things.” she smiled even harder.

“You made her dream about me?”

“I also gave her your number that was me, too... in another kid's body via a soft possession, but it was still me.”

"What's a soft possession, and I told you. I’m done with the Lauren thing, okay?”

“A soft possession is when the person think they're in control and retains all of their memory, but it's really just me making them do things... and why do we have to be done with the Lauren thing?"

“Because, I don’t like girls.”

“Well, when we first met you were saying you’re not _supposed_ to like girls. That doesn’t mean that you don’t like them.”

“Well, now I don’t. Is that clear to you?”

“You do like girls, Normani.”

“I don’t.”

“Sure.”

Normani gave her an exasperated stare. “Listen, you’re The Devil. Obviously if you’re here to influence me to do something, it’s wrong.”

“Wrong is subjective.”

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t like girls, and I can’t like girls?”  
“I don’t see why not.”

“Because my life will go to shit. Everything will go to shit, and I’m not dealing with that. I’d rather face a lifetime of celibacy and pinning.”

“That’s a lie.”

“It is not.”

Camila stared at her for moment, then bent herself over the table so that her face was just barely not touching Normani’s.

“I’m going to tell you a story about a little girl who had the choice of either sitting down and watching everyone continue with all the bullshit that was happening in order to keep the order or fixing a flawed plan. She chose to fix everything, and she was thrown out of her home, but you know what? She doesn’t regret a day of it, because trying to fix it is better than just letting the fucked up shit happen. That’s you. You can either sit here, and let your life be miserable, because you’re scared you’ll upset the social order so badly that an angry mob will come after you or you can do what makes you happy.”

She leaned in further, and pressed their lips together. It’s gentle, and slow, and Normani had never kissed a girl before --if this counts-- and she found herself pushing closer, and opening her mouth, and tangling her fingers in Camila’s hair. When Camila finally stopped and pulled away her face was emotionless.

Normani was quiet, her eyebrows scrunched together and her mouth hanging open. She ran her hand through her hair and let out a breath.

“Yea, I like girls.”

She wondered why she was so easily swayed by The Devil eve though she knew full well it was wrong.

"Because you can't control how you feel, and even though I'm evil I'm the first person to makr you feel kinda of okay about it." Camila said

" _Stop_ reading my thoughts... and I was mostly just gonna chalk it up to the kiss being really nice."

**  
**


	2. The Backlash of a Martyr

“You might want to text her back to let her know you’re coming.” Camila said as she slid back into her seat.

“Yea, right. Do you think I should go?”

“Well, I didn’t kiss you for nothing. Of course I think you should go.”

“Okay, then-” she blinked again, and she was in her bedroom. 

“Now, then. What are you going to wear?”

“Oh, please don’t tell me you’re one of those annoying aesthetic people. I can just wear jeans and a shirt and that’ll be fine.” Normani almost whined at her.

“Oh, you’re no fun.”

“Plus if I actually pay attention to what I’m wearing it’ll just add to the things I’ll be stressed about.”

“You have nothing to be stressed about. Everything will be fine.”

Just then, an extremely bright golden light began to glimmer in her room. She turned to focus on it, but noticed that Camila was oddly unamused by the happenings. As she watched, she saw a girl slowly phase into view. When she finally became clear, her golden glow was still around her. She was also taller than Normani, and had long, ombre hair and tan skin.

“Normani, I have a message for you.” she said in a deep, echoing tone.

“Oh, must you always with the dramatics? Is all that really necessary?” Camila said, scoffing.

“Wait you know her?” Normani asked looking from Camila to the golden girl and back again.

“Yes, I do. Humans call her the Archangel Gabriel... I call her Dinah Jane... or just Dinah”

“Yes, still influencing the humans, I see, Camila.” Dinah said, her voice a bit lighter now.

“Always. I’m evil and I’m still mom’s favorite.”

Dinah rolled her eyes.

"Wait, I thought the Archangel Gabriel was a dude." Normani said

DInah sighed "I go to people in the form they're mostly likely to listen to and not feel threatened by... can't show you guys my true form you'd die... or be scared to the point of being completely paralyzed and unable to do anything for the rest of your entire life... which would be short because... seeing my true form means you're close to dying anyway... like seconds away." Dinah seemed proud of that

"That sounds kinda rough."

"Yea, it is."

"If you're supposed to be in the form that makes me most comfortablt, then why don't you look like Camila?"

Camila interjected "Since I made the comment about European beauty standards you've been rethinking your position on comfortable... and since she got here after me, she got the most updated version from you... personally I wish there were a bit more melanin in there, but this is progress."

"...Thanks... I guess."

"Anyway, I've gone to a bunch of dudes and I've had to be a dude when I go to them, and since no one in this dimension listens to girls, Gabriel's the legend that came out on top. It happens." Dinah shrugged. “Anyway, I have a message for you, Normani. From God.”

“This is about her, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Then I really am doing something bad...”

Dinah looked a little uncomfortable at that. “I’m not here to judge, only to give the message. God says that you should turn from this and walk the path that she has chosen for you. Do this, and your life will-”

“Prosper blah blah blah no one cares, Dinah.”

“...I do care, actually.” Normani said.

Camila scoffed again.

“It’s good that you care.” Dinah said to her “God’s will is greater than all of us. One should not question it.” and she held out her hand, beckoning Normani to come closer.

“No, no, no!” Camila interjected again, grabbing Normani and pulling her into her chest, and resting her cheek on top of her head while draping her arms around her waist. “I’m helping her, and I’m keeping her.”

“Must you always do this?” Dinah asked, her arms now folded across her chest.

“Yes, I must. Until you guys decide to fix everything.”

“You know it’s too late for that.”

“Time isn’t linear for us, only for them. This could have been fixed before they even evolved.”

“We evolved?”

“I don’t see why you said that with such disbelief.”

“Doesn’t the Bible say we were created in seven days or something?”

“Six days, God rested on the seventh,” Dinah inserted herself into the conversation again “and six days to us is literally millennia to you. You had plenty of time to evolve.”

“The point is, this could have been fixed.”

“It could all work out perfectly fine if you’d just leave it alone.”

“Oh, like you did? Like you are? End up like you?”

“Or end up like you? Kicked out of your own home just because you can’t follow simple instructions.”

Camila immediately lifted her head up. She snarled at Dinah. Her eyes disintegrated out of their sockets and were replaced by nothing but black holes. Her hair stood on end as if it was no longer affected by gravity, her skins began to peel off of her face in tiny squares. Normani started shaking in her arms from fear, she closed her eyes and tried not look, but the image was burned into her brain. It took Camila a moment to realize this, but once she did she quickly reverted herself back to her human state.

She turned down to face Normani, and brushed their noses together, stroking her cheek with her thumb.

“It’s okay. No need to be scared, everything’s fine. Calm down.”

“I thought you said you’re just a glowing ball of red.”

“I am. That’s not my natural state, that’s just my defensive state. I’m sorry.” her voice was soft and comforting and Normani was still terrified of what she'd just witnessed, but she fixed her breathing, and even though Camila’s caused the fear, her voice, and her strokes were making her feel better, steadying her shakes. She felt calm like she did on the day they first met.

“Oh, great, now I have to watch this.” Dinah scoffed.

“Oh, jealous are we?” Camila smiled, and kissed the corner of Normani’s mouth.

“As if I would be jealous of a human.” she sighed “Normani, just remember what I said. Don’t let this one corrupt you any further.” and she disappeared. She didn’t fade out like Camila had last night, instead she just popped out of view. It was mostly her golden aura that had to fade, and while it's fading Camila goes over to it, and starts to shoo it away.

 

“This is really bad, isn’t?” Normani asked while Camila was preoccupied with getting the last bits of golden air out of the room. She turned to Normani, and shook her head.

“No. It’s not.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Camila let out a tiny laugh

“You shouldn’t. Listen, I am evil. I am, I make no claims to not being such, but most evil is subjective. This is not one of those things. This is clearly cut black and white to me, at least. There’s nothing wrong with you liking girls, Normani. No matter what Dinah has to say about it... Especially no matter what _Dinah_ has to say about it. In fact, don’t even listen to her opinion on the subject.” she pulled one last tiny golden speck from the air, and gave a tiny smile at it, before wiggling her hand and shooing it away.

“Was there something with you two?”

Camila smiled at her “I was wondering how long it’d take you to figure it out... It’s not very complicated. I love Dinah, she loves me. Neither of us is going to stop being an asshole.”

“So there are gay angels?”

“Not really. It’s not like that for us... We just fall in love it doesn’t... you humans always have to have names for things. We just kind of go with the flow, and anyway, we don't really have a set concept of gender either.”

She walked Normani over to her bed, and then retreated to the desk to grab her chair, and pulled it over to the bed.

“The plan of you guys is flawed. Your creation is flawed. When you were created, God wanted you to multiply. We’d seen this with other animals for centuries. You were supposed to be like them, but you weren’t... Funny thing is, we kind of knew this, we knew how things would turn out, it’s just how the rules were put into place... So, God needed to guys to multiply. We needed the first few generations of people to be heterosexual in order for that to happen. We couldn’t have both men and women being able to conceive; one sex would eventually dominate and imprison the other, we needed you to need each other in some way. The problem was that this became the norm. No one thought of any other possibilities, though God was keen on making people who weren’t just heterosexual later, it was too late by then. They were all seen as anomalies and useless and the work of me...”

She paused for a moment. “You have to remember that time isn’t linear for us. Things just sort of happen. We can change history and we can change events. We can still prevent this all from happening...”

“Then why won’t you?”

“Because God doesn’t want to. Things don’t happen linearly for me, but she's God. She can see things as they’re happening, and she hasn’t actually given any of us the freedom to see what happens to you guys in the long run. That’s actually the only place where our dimension does have time, and it’s only in respect to your dimension... Anyway, the rule about homosexuality being a sin was added in much later.... in our time, anyway. Not because it’s evil, but because she’d seen what would happen to you guys if you revealed yourselves. It was meant to protect you, but we all knew that would never work. You guys have free will; you can fight back against the majority if you choose to do so. She says she thought you’d stay in hiding, but that’s wrong, and she's God, and she knew this would happen just like the rest of us.”

“That’s really...shitty.”

“I KNOW! I’ve been... I was kicked out, because I defied God. I felt that I could do a better job with you than she could, and I still don’t know if that’s right or not, because I don’t know how things worked out in the end, but I know that I couldn’t just sit there and let it happen either... You guys shouldn’t have to follow shitty rules. We don’t.”

Normani waited a moment before speaking.

“I don’t think you’re evil.”

“Oh, but I am.." she gave a sly smile. "Sure, I’m helping, but I am evil. Selfish happiness. Every time anyone ever thinks about doing something with no regards to how anyone else will feel about it, that’s me. Any time you want to take something that isn’t yours, any time some guys wants to punch another guy in the face just to make herself feel better, and... much, much worse... That’s me.”

“Those things aren’t particularly evil.”

“Not everything is, evil is subjective, but I have definitely dabbled in things that aren’t subjective at all...”

“....does God care about you and Dinah being...whatever?”

“No. Not at all.”

“That’s good to know.”

“Even so, Normani. Would you really want to follow a God who cared about something like that?”

Normani was silent.

“S’okay. You don’t have to answer any of those heavy questions right now. We have a party to get you to.”

Normani blinked again, and she was outside on Lauren’s porch, the door slowly being opened.

“Normani! Glad you could make it.” Lauren said to her with a big smile, and pulled her in through the door.

“Glad I could, too.” 

“You’ve been here before, right? Need a drink?”

“Not tonight, I’m driving” she thought, she's not really sure. “but thanks.”

“Cool.” and Lauren scampered off to tend to the rest of the guests.

“Well that was boring. I’m upset that you two haven’t had sex yet that was supposed to happen tonight.” Camila said from behind her while maneuvering through the crowd.

“Ha ha very funny.”

“I’m not kidding. There was supposed to be sex.”

“I’m sure.”

“I bet Ally and Gia are having sex tonight.” And she gestured to them as they approach.

“Normani are you dating Satan?” Ally asked, Normani felt that the tone was a bit nonchalant for the statement, but it _was_ Ally.

“No. She's just sticking around for a while.”

“Having a bit of fun.” Camila said “Any plans for you and Gia to break up so you can stop seeing me everywhere?”

“Not a chance. I’ll give you a head’s up before it happens, though. I’d like to give a proper goodbye.”

“Mhm because you’ll be the one doing the breaking up, I’m sure.” and she pulled her away playfully, waving to Camila and Normani as.

The entire length of Normani’s stay at the party was dotted with Lauren attempting to dote on her in the most unnoticeable ways; giving her her space but checking in on her. Normani wanted to talk to Lauren, she wanted to give her more attention, but she knew she'd already been seen talking to her too frequently and if they both disappeared, everyone would probably notice, or at least, that’s what her head was telling her. she retreated upstairs to the bathroom to talk with Camila.

“I can’t just hang out with her everyone would notice.” Camila was annoyed by this.

“So?”

“I understand that this easy for you, but you need to understand that it is not for me, okay?”

Camila sighed “Fine, then. I will amuse the idea of being afraid. Why don’t you just ask her if you can hang out with her tomorrow? It’ll be private then.”

“That’s actually a great-” and she tripped “idea.” she said from the ground.

“Uh-oh. Someone’s not doing their job are they?” Camila said, and knelt down over Normani.

“What?”

Camila reached onto Normani’d shoulder and pulled away what looked like a teeny tiny glowing girl.

“Hello, there.”

“Hello.” she squeaked back. “It wasn’t me, it was Lei.” she pointed to Normani’s other shoulder which Camila reached over to and pulled another tiny glowing girl from.

“Sorry.” she said.

“Who are they? What are they?”

“Guardian Angels.” Camila said to her. “I’m guessing Lei is the physical; she helps to keep you from hurting yourself physically, and this one-”

“I’m Ellie.”

“Ellie, is the moral one. She keeps you from making really bad decisions.”

“Hi.” they both say in unison looking up at Normani.

“Do you two just sit on my shoulders all day?”

“Yes.”

“Guardian Angels is how angels start out. It’s like training. These two are really young. Have you only been created a few centuries ago?”

“Yes.” they said, again in unison.

Camila smiled at them “Aren’t they adorable?” Normani nods.

“Guardian Angels guard with their pair. I guarded with Dinah...”

“How could you guard with Dinah if you were here before humans?”

“Normani, time is not linear for me. Do you get that bit yet?”

“I just...forgot.”

“Lei, be a bit more careful with Normani, please? I don’t want her to hurt herself, she's very special to me.”

“I will be more careful I promise!” She said, and Camila set each girl back on her respective shoulder.

Normani reached up to see if she can feel anything sitting there, she doesn’t.

“You could only perceive them because of me. I rendered them visible in a state you'd like."

“Oh.”

“But don’t worry. They’ll always be there. They’ll keep you safe.”

Normani was kind of comforted by the idea of the two little angels sitting on her shoulders.

“Anyway.” Camila pulled her up from the floor. “Text Lauren and tell her that you’re leaving, but that you’d like to hang out tomorrow.”

“O-” she blinked again. “Did you really just make me make a decision so that you could crinkle us back to my room?”

“I don’t like the boring parts, and I’m not used to time being linear. Check your phone.”

“She texted me back twelve minutes ago. I’m hanging out at her house tomorrow...”

“Good. Get some sleep. I’ll see you to tomorrow.”

And Normani did sleep. She had a rather comforting dream about her soul burning for all eternity. 

_Maybe it wouldn't be so bad._

 


	3. Reclaimation of the Standpoint

“I think you should wear the skater skirt. Your legs look amazing in it, then again your legs look pretty good in anything. You’ve got good legs, Normani.” Camila said

“I feel like mirrors aren’t accurate enough. I wish I could just see how I look. You’ve got me stressed about my clothes now.”

And right before her eyes she saw Camila transform from herself to... herself.

“This is what you look like in the skirt.” Camila twirled around.

“This is so freaky.”

“I know, right! I look just like you I’m complete with every single birthmark, hair, skill cell, and most importantly your legs.”

“I am so pretty.”

“You are.”

Normani looked at Camila, as her, smile back at her. She’d think it were weird if she hadn’t gone through what she had in the past few days.

“Okay I think I’m going to wear the skirt.” She blinked, and of course, once again she found herself outside of Lauren’s door.

“Did I ring the doorbell already?” She looked over to Camila, now reverted back to her regular “Camila” state who nodded yes to her, and then dissipated.

Lauren greeted her with a big smile, and a hug and invited her into her room.

Lauren’s room actually looked more like a large living room to Normani. There was a sofa facing a large television, not as large as the one in the main room downstairs, but still pretty big, her bed was California King sized with royal-looking bedding on top of it. It looked extremely comfy like Normani could fall down into it if she wanted and float away on a sea of clouds.

The house was big, and empty. It seemed so much smaller with a giant crowd of teenagers inside of it. Normani heard the buzzing of what she assumed was appliances or maybe other televisions on in other rooms playing the background, but no other people. Lauren was an only child, just like her.

She guided Normani down to the couch and turned on the TV, but it was mainly for if there was a lull in the conversation.

“So, where are your parents?”

“Not here. They’re gone a lot, actually, but it doesn’t bother me. I know they’re busy and they don’t want me moving around too much... They know I’m not going to do anything weird like wreck their house or spend a million dollars or anything so it’s cool.”

“Oh, and all this time I thought you were a spoiled rich brat.”

Lauren laughed “Hey, I’m a spoiled _well off_ brat. Not rich! And I am I mean I get just about everything that I want... but I really don’t ask for much, and I don’t throw temper tantrums... just fun parties.” and she smiled at Normani “One of which I was very happy to see you at last night.”

Lauren lightly touched Normani’s knee with the tip of her fingers and gave her a big smile.

“Well, I couldn’t say no after you personally invited me.” Normani smiled back.

“I had to. I didn’t remember seeing you there any time before and I thought that was a crime since you’re so pretty I know I couldn’t have missed you.”

Normani was sure that if she’d had paler skin she’d be blushing. She looked down at her hands as she gave out what seemed to be an uncontrollably big smile.

“Thank you.” she looked back up. “Lauren, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure! Anything you want to know!” Lauren moved a littler closer to her on the couch, but she was sure not to get too close.

“How did you know that you liked girls? And just... only girls?”

Lauren let out another laugh. “How do you know that you like boys?”

Normani looked back behind the couch to the big bed behind them, then back to Lauren.

“I’m actually not too sure that I do...” Lauren lightly touched Normani’s hand

“Oh, well... if you need someone to talk to I’m here.”

Normani heard “she’s extremely happy about this” whispered in her ear, and looked over to see Camila. “This is like the cutest first date I ever seen, and trust me I’ve seen a LOT of first dates."

“What are you doing here?” She looked back over to Lauren who appeared to be frozen. “I thought linear time was boring for you, and now you freeze it to make it go slower?”

“That’s actually messing with how linear it is! It’s like adding in a littler side pocket of time it’s amazing!”

Normani rolled her eyes. “So, what are you doing here? Do I need any pointers or anything?”

“No you’re doing fine I just wanted to tell you... to look at her.”

and Normanii turned and looked at Lauren, and she really looked at her for what seemed like the first time since she’d been there. Her eyes were soft, and she had a genuinely nice smile on her face. Her cheeks were a little red which let Normani know she might’ve been a little nervous, but she was still offering her a hand to help her.

“She’s glad that you might like girls.”

“Yea... but only because of a dream you gave her...” Normani felt a bit discouraged.

“I made her dream about you, but she’s always thought about you... you were always in the back of her mind... I’m like Cosmo and Wanda a bit in the way that I can’t really control people’s feelings in that kind of way. You guys have free will, remember? I can influence you... strongly, but I can’t make you _feel_ anything that way. I gave her the courage to text you, but she’d have to have wanted to text you in the first place.”

“Thanks... for telling me that.”

“I mean I’m still pretty powerful. I knew you’d need to hear it so I came here to tell you, and now you can continue on.”

And Lauren came back to life and Camila was gone.

“Thanks... it’s just weird, you know? I’ve always been raised a certain way... to believe in certain things... now I’m not too sure about much of anything....”

“When I first saw you at school last year I wanted to say something to you, but... I found out there you were super religious so I just figured it’d be best if I stayed away...”

Normani felt a little uncomfortable “...You were right, too... then, but I’m... not the same girl I was last year...”

“Yea, I know, you’ve gotten even prettier.” Lauren seemed to gush out.

Normani let out a little laugh “Well, I’m glad you think so.”

“And why is that?” Lauren sarcastically put her pointer finger to corner of her mouth creating a mock “inquisitive” look causing Normani to laugh even more.

“Well, because you’re you... you’re beautiful.”

Lauren moved closer to her, this time she wasn’t being careful. She put her hand just to Normani’s face “Is this okay?” Normani nodded in silence and Lauren cupped her face, stroking her cheek with her thumb. She leaned her head in and closed her eyes, Normani met her halfway with a kiss.

She pulled away “Mani, you’re seriously the most beautiful girl I’ve ever laid eyes on.” she leaned back in for another kiss then pulled away again “And you have the perfect body” she kissed her again “And you’re so smart” and leaned back in for another kiss.

She moved her hand down along the side of Normani’s body, down to the hem of her skirt and stretch her fingers out her, squeezing Normani’s thigh as she deepened the kiss. Normani moved her hands in Lauren’s hair, and pulled her closer. She felt like she was suffocating, but in a good way, like all the air was gone from her body and she was somehow floating.

Lauren pulled Normani on top of her so that she was straddling her lap. She moved her hand up her thigh a little bit, and pulled away again.   
“Is this okay?”

“Yea, it’s fine.” Normani leaned in to kiss her and pulled away, “You can touch me however you want.” and leaned back in, resting on hand on Lauren’s shoulder, and the other in her hair.

Lauren moved her and up Normani’s thigh even more, settling and switching between playing with the line of her panties, and reaching around to squeeze her bum. Normani loved it.

She’d barely had her first kiss before let alone made out with someone with their hands on her body.

 

Lauren ducked down and kissed her neck, biting lightly at her skin, and slid her hands under Normani’s panties to give her ass another squeeze. Her breathing was rough and she seemed hungry, but she was gentle. Normani let out a tiny moan.

“Okay, okay we’ve got to slow down a little bit.” and Lauren immediately removed her hands, placing them on the couch and stopped kissing her.

She let out a breathy “Yea, sure. Sorry.” and her voice was high and a little nervous. Normani thought is was cute.

“No, it’s fine it’s just... I’m kind of a virgin so...”

“Oh. That’s fine.” Lauren was a bit more calm now.

“I mean I know I’m 18 and about to graduate and haven’t had sex yet but I’m still not... a complete dork, right?”

Lauren gave her a big smile “You’re not a dork at all... I’m sorry I just get a little handsy, but we don’t have to have sex I wasn’t really planning on it anyway.”

“I mean it’s not just that I’ve kind of never... really made out with anyone either so... I kind of didn’t know what to expect.”

“That’s fine, too. I can back off if you want me to. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

“Thank you... but you don’t have to back off just.. go a little slower... or else I’m... gonna get a little too excited.”

Lauren smiled at her. “No problem. In fact.” she stood up with Normani still on her lap

“Aren’t I heavy?”

“Not really.”

She wobbled over to her bed and laid them both down on it “We can just cuddle, and talk if that’s okay.”

“Yea, that’s perfect.” Normani laid on top of Lauren with her face tucked between her shoulder and her chin. She had one leg up around her waist and Lauren moved her hand in circles all over Normani’s body. It was soothing.

They talked for hours, and then fell into a comfortable silence with Lauren still moving her hand over Normani’s body.

“Alright.” Normani said in a hazy voice after a while “I’ve got to go or else I’m gong to fall asleep here.”

“I don’t see how that would be such a bad thing.” Lauren said pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“It wouldn’t be except that I didn’t clear it with my mom and dad before leaving home. They’d be pissed if I just decided to stay out last minute. They’re very protective of me.”

“That makes sense.” and they sat up on the bed. Normani felt the floating feeling fall because now she’d have to leave. Lauren walked her to the door and asked her, through planting what seemed to be endless kisses all over her face, if she’d come over again tomorrow.

“We can have a lazy Sunday brunch. I’ll have the cook make us food, and bring it in my room, and it could be our first official real i-asked-you-out date.”

“Sure, I’d like that. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Normani turned around and she was back in her room sitting on her bed.

“Always with the crinkling... I’m gonna be like you and get annoyed with linear time soon.”

“Good. All mortals should be at least a little unsatisfied with how slowly their dimension moves through time.”

Camila sat at the end of her bed expectantly. “Soooo, did you have a good time?”

“Camila, you already know what happened.”

“I do but I figured that since you don’t have any friends you’re actually close to you might want to gush to me... unless you’re ready to tell your parents about what happened tonight.”

“No! ...it was nice, we kissed, and cuddled and she’s really good at squeezing butts... and I have another date tomorrow.” Normani let out a little high pitched scream and laid back on her bed, smiling up at the ceiling in wonder.

“I told you the skirt was a good idea.”

“The skirt was a perfect idea! I think I’m gonna wear shorts tomorrow.”

“You are. Your high waist shorts.”

“Yea, because they make my butt look amazing, and I kinda want her to touch it again.”

“Be thankful for the warm Texas climate.”

“I am!” and Normani rolled over onto her tummy “This is so amazing she thinks I’m the prettiest girl she’s ever seen... and I’m assuming she watches a lot of television and movies.”

“She has, and I agree you’re definitely the prettiest girl she’s ever seen.. and probably will see. Me... I’d say you’re in my top thousand.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You should. I’ve been around humans for all eternity top one thousand is really good.”

* * *

The next day at Lauren’s seemed to all go by too quickly. Kissing, and eating, and laughing, and more straddling, and more grabbing, and Normani knew she’d been with her all day, but somehow it seemed to end too quickly.

“She asked me to Pre-prom.”

“I hate that you guys have a Pre-prom. I mean... I know the point is to have a low pressure dance where no one really has to dress up to cool you off before Prom, but... I hate it. It’s another remind of the linear time in the dimension... why didn’t you say yes?”

“You know why. Whoever goes to Pre-prom together goes to Prom together... and anyway I’m not sure if I’m ready for the school to know... I told her I’d tell her tomorrow.”

“Normani, you’re really making it difficult to help you.” Camila sighed  
“You have helped me.. a lot, but... there are still somethings I’m trying to figure out if I’m ready for.”

And at that moment a familiar golden aura returned to Normani’s room.

“Ugh. Please not this again.”

Dinah Jane seemed completely unphased by Camila’s comment. She simply walked over to Normani, and knelt before her.

“No! No, no, no!” Camila went over to them and pushed Dinah away. “Leave her alone. She’s just now getting happy! Tell mom to leave her alone!”

“Camila, I’m following orders. You don’t know everything.”

“And you do? You think this is right?”

DInah took a deep breath. “There’s someone who knows better than me and I trust it. And you can’t stop me, anyway. You know that.”

Camila let out an exasperated sigh, and sat next to Normani on her bed while Dinah knelt down in front of her again.

“Normani.” Dinah Jane took Normani’s hand in her and looked her deep in the eyes. Normani was suddenly filled with fear that seemed to grow and consume her until it made her feel like her body was on fire. She could hear Camila yelling in the background, and felt her placing her arms around her, but she couldn’t look away. Dinah pulled her face down to hers and kissed her, and Normani felt a haze over her... like she’d drank some alcohol and her head was cloudy. She was calm, and Dinah was out of sight again. Her golden aura slowly fading out, as Normani slowly turned to Camila to tell her that she didn’t like girls anymore.

“No, Normani. I know you’re scared bu-”

“No. It’s not that... I really don’t like girls anymore... I really don’t. Which works well, because now I don’t have to worry about my parents finding out of anything.”

“Normani.” Camila pressed her forehead to Normani’s a concentrated. “Ugh. I can’t break the fucking thing.”

“What thing?”

“It’s like... like a spell... spell isn’t the right word but it’s like a spell... Dinah made you not like girls anymore, and I can’t lift it. I can’t interfere with her or mom’s powers I’m not that powerful.”

“So, I really don’t like girls anymore?”

“No... they fucked with your free will THAT’S NOT FAIR.” Camila yelled.

“Normani, I can’t beat this for you, you have to... you have to want to like girls or else...”

“But everything’s easier this way.”

“Easier for who?”

“Me... the world, my parents.”

“Listen to me. I know this might seem scary, I know it is scary, but you’re never going to be happy this way. You’re just going to be empty, and numb... It feels like relief now, but it’s not... and it won’t feel that way forever.”

“Right now... I feel like going to sleep.”

Camila screwed her face up into what Normani was sure a frown contorted to somehow look even more unpleasant with her powers. “Fine.”

and she was in bed laying down falling asleep.

The next day in school Lauren met her at her locker with a big smile.

“So, have you thought about Pre-prom anymore? It’s totally fine if you don’t want to go ‘cause I totally get how scary it is to-”

“Actually” Normani said in a calm voice while removing her books “I don’t like girls anymore.” Normani felt like she as on autopilot... like her mouth was saying things, and they were right, but she was numb, and wasn’t really paying attention to any of it.

Lauren’s face broke “You’re joking, right?”

Normani turned to face her. “No... I’m not, actually. This weekend was fun, but it was just one weekend... I’ll see you at Pre-prom, though if you go.” and she left. She felt and pang of guilt in her stomach that was quickly replaced by calm.

A boy named Masi that she’d known since elementary asked her out to Pre-prom, and she, once again put on autopilot, agreed.

“You can’t just go with Masi. Lauren will be there.” Camila was practically snarling. Normani couldn’t bring herself to care.

“Well, I already said yes, and Pre-prom is this friday.” Her voice was calm.

“Call him and tell him no. It’s not like you have matching outfits picked out.”

“I’m going with him.”

“Why? He’s a misogynistic asshole, and I know those... I’ve helped some of them.”

“Well then I guess you’ve got no one to blame but yourself.”

Camila folded her arms and left. Leaving Normani feeling like she should be feeling something... anything about the situation, but she just didn’t care. She didn’t even feel bad that she didn’t care, and she knew she should.

* * *

The night of Pre-prom Normani drove herself, and wore jean shorts and a tshirt. Pre-prom was supposed to be the opposite of formal. It was really just created so that people would have to ask their Prom dates by a certain time, because usually whoever went to Pre-prom together went to Prom together, and to help the seniors de-stress before finals. The teachers created it years before Normani had even started high school as a way to help the seniors out. For additional no-pressure-added fun, it was held in the school gym, and lower classmen were invited.

When she walked in she easily found Masi on the dancefloor and walked over to him. Again, these things aren’t supposed to be formal. He didn’t need to ask her to dance.

When she walked over to him, and the music suddenly became slow. He grabbed her waist and pulled her in close. She felt like she might be floating again. When she pulled back just few seconds later she saw Lauren, dancing with her clear as day with a smile on her face but when she went to speak she heard

“Normani, are you okay?” in Masi’s voice

“Huh?” Lauren changed from herself, to Masi.

_I think I’m losing it_ she thought

“Losing what?” She heard that in Lauren’s voice

She could’ve sworn she hadn’t said that out loud.

Masi changed back into Lauren. She briefly flashed into Camila before changing into Beyonce.

“What?”

“Everything alright?” and Beyonce changed into Ally’s girlfriend, then back to Masi. To Lauren, to what seemed to be a full grown version of both her guardian angels, to Lauren again

“Okay, Camila stop!”

She felt her brain pop like her ears would if she was on an airplane, and all of her emotions came running back.

Camila turned to her regular, Camila form. The song was fast, and upbeat even though normani was sure she’d only been dancing for no more than two minutes.

“Where is Masi?”

“He... never made it out. Something about still being asleep after an emergency dental appointment. He’ll be okay, though. His mom left a very informative voicemail on your phone.”

“Where is Lauren?”

“...in the bathroom crying. She’s going to leave soon.”

“Thank you.”

And Normani ran out of the school gym and into the bathroom.

Lauren was in it alone, doing what Normani could only guess was cleaning herself up in the mirror.

“Hey...” Normani’s voice was low

“Don’t you have a dance to get back to or something?”

“I came to say that I’m sorry.”

Lauren turned to face her

“Sorry for what? It was only one weekend, right?”

“Lauren, I made a mistake. I.... don’t know what came over me, but it wasn’t true I do like girls and I like you.”

Lauren let out a sharp laugh.

“You didn’t even say hi to me when you walked in you went straight to dancing all by yourself.”

“That was wrong, too. I’m sorry.”

“I am not interested in being anyone’s experiment, okay?” and Lauren’s voice cracked. “I’m not... just some girl you can use to figure out who you are and then toss to the side like I don’t even matter!”

“You’re not an experiment to me. I promise.”

“Yea, well... you’ve got a funny way of showing it.”

She stormed out of the bathroom, walking quickly toward the gym with Normani close behind her

“I know I can’t explain this to you, but I was... I was just scared, and I’m-”

“Save it.” and she pushed open the door and walked over to her table, grabbing her purse, and turning to leave.

“Lauren!” Normani grabbed her shoulders. “You were not just an experiment to me, and I don’t want you to be a secret either... I’m sorry.”

Lauren looked at her “You don’t have to do this. If you feel bad about hurting my feelings I accept your apology. I’m not your charity case.”

“No, you’re not, but I would like it if you were my girlfriend... but I imagine you’d have to forgive me which... I know is hard, but I’m sorry.”

Lauren took a deep breath.

“Let’s just... start with another hang out.... maybe tomorrow?”

“I was hoping we could start with a dance... now if that’s okay.”

“Here?”

Normani shrugged, and removed her hands. “I said I didn’t want you to be a secret.” she leaned in and kissed her.

Lauren pulled a small smile “Okay, we can dance.”

They walked over to the dance floor, and the song was slow again. Normani hoped it didn’t mean this was all a trick again. She placed her arms around Lauren’s neck and Lauren grabbed her waist.

“I really am sorry.”

“You could apologize more by kissing me again.” and Normani smiled, leaning in for another kiss and then pulling Lauren in, resting her chin on her shoulder while they swayed gently to the music.

Camila appeared in front of her.

“You helped me, didn’t you?”

“Only a little. She wanted to forgive you I just... gave her a bit more courage to do it.”

“Courage?”

“She was afraid she’d get hurt again. I helped her get over that.”

“Thank you. You’re going to leave me now, aren’t you?”

“I’ve helped you get your girl. My job here is done.”

“Am I ever gonna see you again?”

“I mean I’m the Devil. I’ll always be here, influencing you to do what’s wrong... helping you question moral authority, you know the usual.”

“That’s good to know.”

And Normani thought to herself, how weird it was to think that she was comforted by the idea of Satan always being around her.

“Hey, I told you, my friends call me Camila.”

“Your mortal friends.”

“You’re one of my mortal friends now.” She smiled, and stretched up a little and kissed Normani’s forehead.

Normani blinked and was in Lauren’s bed, snuggled up next to her. Camila sat on the bed across from them

“I didn’t even make a decision.”

“Doesn’t matter. This was going to happen. You went home, checked in with your parents, and then asked if you could come here. I just thought you’d want to get to this part a little sooner.”

“Why?”

Camila smiled “Because... look at her.”

and Normani looked up. Lauren blinked her eyes open. She suddenly noticed the sunlight pouring in.

“Morning, gorgeous.” Lauren said in a raspy voice.

“Morning.” Normani couldn’t help but let out a big dorky smile. “It’s nice waking up to you.”

“She looked back over, and Camila was gone.”

* * *

“You did good this time.” Dinah said as they sat, now undetectable, on the bed with Lauren and Normani.

“Yea, with no help from you.”

Dinah moved a hair from Camila’s face. “You know mortals think that’s really romantic or whatever... and I knew how this would turn out... so did mom.”

“Then why did you try to stop me?”

“Because there are still some things that even we need to learn... and sometimes you need to be reminded that you really don’t know everything... and Normani needed to realize that she actually wanted to be with Lauren... and Lauren had to see that, too.”

“...You did good, too.”

“We always guard together, remember?”

Camila leaned in and kissed her. “Any chance you’ll betray God and come to the dark side with me?”

“Any chance you’ll apologize and stop acting like a rebellious human teenager?”

“Slim to none.”

“Same odds, and now I’ve got to get back to work.” Dinah said, kissing Camila on the cheek once more.

“Figures. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

**  
The End**


End file.
